Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 2

And then there were four. Round two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs wrapped up incredibly fast in the East, while it dragged on for as long as it could in the West. Now two teams that are all refreshed after sitting out for some time will face off against each other; while two other very tired and battered teams will do their best to hang in until the Finals.

Both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings dragged on their respective series for the full seven games; and the Blackhawks ended up nearly being stripped of their win. And while there were no controversial calls in the ending minutes of the Kings’ series against the San Jose Sharks, that series still went very, very long.

Now, as the Blackhawks and the Kings face each other in the third round, who will move on to fight for the Cup? Looking back at the regular season it would be easy to give it to the Hawks, who won two of the three meetings between the two teams during regular season. They were also one of the only teams that could get past L.A. goaltender Jonathan Quick. But the Blackhawks have struggled in the playoffs, not getting the performance out of forward Jonathan Toews that’s needed. If that continues, and if the Kings can find ways to score, they may just be the ones moving onto the Finals.

In the East there are the Pittsburgh Penguins trying to fight off the Boston Bruins. Both teams have had long rests, ousting their last opponents in five games each; but they’ll find it’s a whole different arena here. Who wins this series will depend on who will have the better defense, as both teams have extreme depth in the offense. The Penguins are heavily favored to take the entire tournament this year though so if you like to play it safe, the Pens are where the smart money goes.

Who do you think will win this round of the playoffs; and who do you think will win the Cup? All the action picks back up again Saturday night!

Categorized in: NHL